GDP figures today disappointed expectations, with growth slowing for the second quarter in row, and increasingly departing already from the Office for Budgetary Responsibility forecast. In numbers: growth slowed to 0.5% in the last quarter of 2014, from 0.7% in the third quarter. This defied city…Read more…
Syriza’s impact on Europe: forget what the ‘serious people’ say
Paul Krugman is apparently bemused by the comparative performances of the US and European economies. The US, allegedly the home of responsible and prudent public finances, has outperformed the EU (and especially the eurozone) by deploying spendthrift, …Read more…
CDC pensions are better for the economy
At the TUC’s ABC of CDC conference, my good friend Bernard Casey of Warwick University asked Gregg McClymont, the Shadow Pensions Minister, the sources of the superior projected performance of CDC compared to individual DC. “Different speakers have emphasised the “main” advantage of…Read more…
Making up lost ground on pay
What is happening to workers’ pay is becoming one of the central arguments in the run up to the general election with the Government making much of the latest statistics on earnings and inflation. The collapse in the world price of oil has forced inflation on the CPI measure down to 0.5% while…Read more…
Does Davos do any good?
As the super-rich decant from Davos – some, seriously, by private jet – it’s time to reflect on another year of the elite World Economic Forum. Does it do any good? Davos is mostly…Read more…
European bankers not pleased at French boost for Robin Hood Tax
On Monday, Finance Ministers from EU member states will meet for the first time since French President Francois Hollande instructed his Finance minister to stop obstructing the Austro-German push for a broad-based financial transactions tax (FTT) , and…Read more…
TUC launches new guide in 13 languages to combat migrant worker exploitation
Today the TUC is launching the online guide Working in the UK in 13 languages including Polish, Bulgarian, Romanian and Portuguese and Italian to combat the exploitation of migrant workers. This…Read more…
Saving Our Safety Net Fact of the Week: 145,000 people using food banks because of benefit delays
I have difficult feelings whenever I see a report about the Trussell Trust. On the one hand, I admire them more than any other charity (and I kick myself if I get to the check-out at the Co-op and realise I’ve forgotten to include a tin for the food bank). But on the other hand…Read more…
Web links for 22nd January 2015
Training is essential in the labour market of today and tomorrow Skills and qualifications are needed more than ever and at every level, writes unionlearn’s Tom Wilson. The number of jobs needing no qualifications fell from 28% in 2006 to 23% in 2012; jobs requiring a degree rose from 20% to…Read more…
While the ECB print money, was ex-Governor Lord King calling for fiscal stimulus in the UK?
On Monday evening at the London School of Economics, Lord King, former Governor of the Bank of England, and Sir Alan Budd, former chief economist at HM Treasury and a founder member of the Monetary Policy Committee, had ‘a conversation about central banking’ with Professor Charles Goodhart in the…Read more…
We need to do more to recognise and facilitate growth and career development
David Weston is the founder and Chief Executive of the Teacher Development Trust. CPD isn’t a luxury add-on to the work of teaching, it is an absolutely central element of being a professional. The…Read more…
Getting excited about CPD reminds us why we chose to do this job
Ellie Dix is the Director of Pivotal Education. CPD for teachers is a necessity. When CPD works well, it is genuinely useful and can make a huge difference not just to the practice of an individual…Read more…
Today’s employment figures (Jan 2015)
I have a post up at Left Foot Forward, looking at today’s labour market statistics. What seems to be happening is that the quality of employment is improving, but the increases in employment and falls in unemployment are slowing down. The prospects for earnings are still quite poor: at the…Read more…
100 claimants with mental health problems have their benefits stopped every day
Figures obtained by the Methodist Church from the Department of Work and Pensions have revealed that claimants thought to be unfit for work due to mental health problems are disproportionately and increasingly likely to have their benefits stopped under sanctions. The DWP’s own figures show that in…Read more…
£1billion a year essential for new flood defences
£1billion a year must be spent on flood defences over the next decade to cope with the rising threat of flooding, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and campaigners like Friends of the Earth. In a new initiative, they argue for an end to building new homes in flood-risk areas,…Read more…
Can we make 2015 the year of good work?
What is a good company? This morning, the Co-operative Bank announced an update of its ethical policy based on responses from 74,000 customers and staff. As a result, the bank will not lend to companies involved in irresponsible gambling, payday lendin…Read more…
Global pressure forces withdrawal of Thai prison labour plans
Campaigning has paid off again. Last week I blogged about a campaign we’d joined to stop the Thai Government’s plans to force prisoners to work in the notorious Thai fishing industry….Read more…
Could the Greeks bring us gifts this Sunday?
This Sunday, the Greek people go to the polls in what must be one of the most important elections not just for Greece but for Europe as a whole. What is at stake is the future of democratic control of the economy, and the European establishment’s love affair with austerity. Nowhere in Europe…Read more…
Are the improvements in the labour market recovery being overstated?
Employment levels may be rising to record levels; however, this is partly a result of the rising numbers in the working population. The employment rate at 73.0 per cent only recently returned to its pre-crisis peak; whereas the 6.0 per cent unemploymen…Read more…
Use your vote!
Mark Baker is president of ATL. 99% of ATL’s members cast their vote in this year’s National Presidential election! That would be a nice headline and I encourage everyone who can to make it…Read more…